g dining-room,
which served also as the family sitting-room, "hurry on and you'll
mebbe be in time to see the stage come in with the new teacher in.
Mebbe you'll see him to speak to yet up at Hershey's."

"Lizzie Hershey's that wonderful tickled that the teacher's going to
board at their place!" said Amanda, the second daughter, a girl of
Tillie's age, as she stood in the kitchen doorway and watched Tillie
put on her black hood over the white Mennonite cap. Stout Aunty Em also
wore the Mennonite dress, which lent a certain dignity to her round
face with its alert but kindly eyes; but her two daughters were still
"of the world's people."

"When Lizzie she tole me about it, comin' out from Lancaster after
market this morning," continued Amanda, "she was now that tickled! She
sayed he's such a good-looker! Och, I wisht he was stoppin' here;
ain't, Tillie? Lizzie'll think herself much, havin' a town fellah
stoppin' at their place."

"If he's stoppin' at Hershey's," said Rebecca, appearing suddenly,
"that ain't sayin' he has to get in with Lizzie so wonderful thick! I
hope he's a JOLLY fellah."

Amanda and Rebecca were now girls of seventeen and eighteen
years--buxom, rosy, absolutely unideal country lasses. Beside them,
frail little Tillie seemed a creature of another clay.

"Lizzie tole me: she sayed how he come up to their market-stall in
there at Lancaster this morning," Amanda related, "and tole her he'd
heard Jonas Hershey's pork-stall at market was where he could mebbe
find out a place he could board at in New Canaan with a private
family--he'd sooner live with a private family that way than at the
HOtel. Well, Lizzie she coaxed her pop right there in front of the
teacher to say THEY'd take him, and Jonas Hershey he sayed HE didn't
care any. So Lizzie she tole him then he could come to their place, and
he sayed he'd be out this after in the four-o'clock stage."

"Well, and I wonder what her mother has to say to her and Jonas fixin'
it up between 'em to take a boarder and not waitin' to ast HER!" Aunty
Em said. "I guess mebbe Sister Jennie's spited!"

The appellation of "sister" indicated no other relation than that of
the Mennonite church membership, Mrs. Jonas Hershey being also a New
Mennonite.

"Now don't think you have to run all the way there and back, Tillie,"
was her aunt's parting injunction. "_I_ don't time you like what your
pop does! Well, I guess not! I take notice you're always out of breath
wh